O. Kadota et al., ROLE OF BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH-FACTOR IN THE REGULATION OF RAT BASILAR ARTERY TONE IN-VIVO, Neuroscience letters, 199(2), 1995, pp. 99-102
Using the cranial window method, we investigated the effect of basic f
ibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the diameter of the rat basilar arte
ry in vivo, bFGF (5-200 ng/ml) caused significant vasodilation in a do
se-dependent manner with the maximal effect (119% of baseline diameter
) at 200 ng/ml. Vasodilation was not observed when the basilar artery
was treated with heat-inactivated bFGF or bFGF preincubated with bFGF-
neutralizing monoclonal antibody. Moreover, bFGF-induced vasodilation
was suppressed significantly by coadministration of the nitric oxide (
NO) synthase inhibitor, N-G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). In
contrast, N-G-nitro-D-arginine methyl ester (D-NAME), which is the is
omer of L-NAME, exerted no influence on bFGF-induced vasodilation. The
se findings suggest that the dilatation by bFGF of the rat basilar art
ery is mediated by NO, and that bFGF plays an important role in the re
gulation not only of the anterior circulation as previously described
but also of the posterior circulation in the brain.